X-Men: Nero
by the26thDoctor
Summary: Wolverine and Magneto, on a training mission in the jungle, encounter a new mutant with a storied past and a cool new mutation.


The Jungles of Time

Slashing and hacking his way through the Congo was not how Logan pictured his new training. The mosquitoes were biting. The air was thick and foul and wet. His jacket was torn in several places now and he had cut himself more times than he could remember. They had been cutting through the vines for 3 days now looking for this scumbag and he had yet to take a single life. He had given serious thought to slicing up that bonobo yesterday. But that wouldn't fit his idiom.

The worst part of it was him. That smug British asshole he had fought so many times before. Instead of hacking it out with Logan, trying to earn his respect, Magneto simply floated above the foliage, content to watch his "pupil" slave away. Not really that content, though. Every so often he just had to chime in.

"Speed up, Logan. We're not going to catch him at this pace."

"Yeah, well you know these plants are high in iron. Pretty sure you could lend a hand."

"Logan I could uproot this entire jungle if I wanted to. But I don't do those things anymore."

It was weird working with Magneto. Logan had gotten used so used to hating him as an enemy that trusting him now as an ally…no…a team member was difficult. But the team was weak. And they needed every mutant they could find and every mutant had to be at the top of his or her respective game. Xavier still led, with Magneto serving as his right hand man. Apparently they had worked together several times before. Iceman, Colossus and Storm rounded out the current "X-men." Hank did what he could from the sidelines and Storm was nowhere to be found. Scott, Jean and Kitty were all dead. And the plain fact of the matter is, there weren't enough mutants left to have two sides to the argument. So they worked together.

"Logan! Look over there!" Magneto shouted as he pointed west. The underbrush was rattling. It had to have been their mark. Logan's senses never failed him before and today would be no different.

"I got him!" He said as he took off. Magneto followed suit from above the canopy, giving a sort of aerial tactical support. Logan extended his claws, gritted his teeth and made off as fast as he could. The target was running frantically, and not away from them. Logan made his angle on the man, slashing at tree branches and undergrowth as he sprinted dead speed towards the criminal. Surprisingly, the man made no maneuvers to avoid him.

"Logan, push him towards the river, half a kilometer west!"

"I don't know which way west is!" Logan yelled back. His tactic was simple: catch the asshole, put some claws through him, throw him on his back and make his way back to the clearing where the Blackbird was. As it turns out, Logan was pushing him towards the river anyways. The man made a slight turn, Logan nearly having overtaken him. As soon as Logan reached the point where the man had made his turn, he was tackled by a rather large leopard. The cat tumbled as it hit the ground, briefly looking back-with purpose- to growl at Logan. For his part, Logan had tumbled down a small knoll into a large tree. He looked for a moment at his wounds, then hearing a strange sound, he looked up. The leopard was gone, but swinging through the canopy was an oddly colored chimpanzee.

"Beware of the natives." Magneto said cheekily as he descended in front of Logan.

"Oh yeah, lotta help you are." Logan growled as he got up and tried his best to chase after the criminal whose scent he had now lost. But it was futile. He could find no tracks and that smelly monkey was making it hard for him to pick up a scent.

"Goddamn fucking ape!" He yelled.

"Just goes to show you that you must be prepared for all eventualities." Magneto smiled.

"Oh really? Well tell me, oh wise one, how did this factor into your strategy?" Logan prodded.

"It didn't. I don't suffer monkeys. I barely tolerate you."

"Watch it."

Logan continued his search for a few minutes. He was so focused on the trying to pick up a trail he failed to see the large silverback gorilla a few feet away from him.

"Logan, trust me when I say you may want to stop right where you are."

Logan twisted around. This gorilla was obviously pissed. Slowly, with angered purpose, the ape approached Logan. Backing up into the tree behind him, Logan followed his instincts and withdrew his claws. The gorilla, oddly, looked right at the claws and snorted what could be construed as a laugh. Logan took a wild swing which the gorilla easily deflected. He roared his primate roar as he pinned Logan up against the tree behind him. Then…the gorilla smiled. Not smiled, more like grinned. Like the gorilla knew he had Logan exactly where he wanted him.

Magneto descended slowly behind the two, trying to be as discreet as possible. Quietly, he lifted one of the large stones lying on the floor of the jungle. The gorilla kept grinning. It was like watching poetry, ballet performed by an ape. The gorilla head butted Logan, disorienting him momentarily. His big ape hands grabbed an overhead branch, then he lifted his legs on either side of Logan's head placing his feet on the tree trunk, and pushed off. By this time the stone was already making its way to what was the gorilla's head, now Logan's. The gorilla flipped backwards in the air, kicking the stone down straight to the ground. Grabbing another branch, he brachiated so quickly through the branches even Magneto couldn't properly track him. The only way he could discern anything close to a location was when the gorilla let out a monstrous grunt. But it was too late. He came flying down from above Magneto, both big hands clasped, and knocked Magneto to the ground.

Bouncing off the next tree, the gorilla flipped next to Magneto and picked him up. It had been mere seconds and Logan was still shaking off the discombobulating feeling in his head. He was no real contest at all for this strange ape, who picked him up by the neck. Holding both of them in the air, he let out a mighty roar. Then Logan heard the sound again. He watched as, right before his eyes, the ape transformed. Slowly revealing himself was a tall, lean built man with short black hair and pronounced features.

"Now, since you both fucked up my hunt, you can both help me." The man said in a low, resounding growl, marked with something close to a South African accent. With that, he dropped the two and pointed to his right, using his other hand to motion for the two to be quiet. The sounds then happened again, and suddenly the same chimp Logan had seen before was standing before them. The chimp took off in a flash. Logan looked to Magneto, who incessantly motioned him to follow.

Logan did the best he could to keep up, but this monkey butt was too fast. Swinging through the trees, flipping through the air; it was mesmerizing. Magneto was flying just behind them, this time bobbing and weaving through the lower canopy, obviously offended at how easily he had been dispatched by this weird man.

They came to a stop on the bank of the river, where the man turned back into a man. Crouching behind a fallen tree, they gathered themselves. Logan looked at the man, so full of questions.

"This guys a slippery fuck. Been tracking him for 3 days. Fucking cunt if you ask me." The man snorted.

"How do you suppose we catch him?" Logan asked.

"Oh there is no 'we'. "

"I thought you told us to help." Magneto insisted.

"Listen here, old man- I only asked you fucks to come cause I didn't feel like hauling this guys smelly body all the way back to town. That's how you can help." The man said.

Smiling, he slipped into the water, giving them both the finger, and they heard the sound again. The man was now swimming quietly through the water as the most enormous croc either of them had ever seen. He slipped below the water out of sight of the criminal, his eyes and snout sticking out inconspicuously. Like watching performance art done by a madman, the croc waited until the criminal dipped his hands in the water for a drink. His powerful jaws latched onto the criminal's arms and dragged him into the water. The sound. Another change, this time back into the gorilla. His enormous, powerful arms held the fugitive's head under the water. Minutes passed, the man flailed about. Logan got up to go stop him, but Magneto placed his hand on Logan's shoulder and bade him wait. Minutes. The flailing flared down. The gorilla roared loudly, his dominance clearly asserted. The flailing stopped. The fugitive was dead. The gorilla pulled his lifeless body out of the water and tossed him all the way across the river like a rag doll. The man's body landed with a loud smack next to Logan and Magneto. Logan's face showed the fear of a man so powerful. Magneto's beamed with the delight of discovering such a beautiful mutant.


End file.
